Merlin Bingo verdict

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Merlin Bingo is a charming, fantasy themed bingo site. This Cozy Games site is in the Live Bingo Network alongside Reem Bingo and Quackpot Bingo, other recent additions. You can expect a certain level of quality here but will the site be magical when you play?

design & Usability

Merlin Bingo has a theme built around the wizard Merlin of legend, taking a fantasy slant on the character with a pointy hat, beard and magic wand. The background art on the site shows a jaunty Merlin approaching a castle and it looks quite spooky and interesting. The level of quality is very high.

The site’s usability is good, having a pretty direct layout which is made colourful with themed buttons and tiles. Quick buttons for promotions also help to save a little time and lastly, no areas of the site present loading issues.

customer Support

Getting in touch with Merlin Bingo is pretty straightforward, using a little contact page on the top right. You can reach them with email, a ticket system, live chat or phone lines, which is above and beyond the methods offered by many rival sites.

The team are quick to reply and 24/7 availability is good news for the night owls and early risers. The site also has a good set of FAQs to help with everyday issues.

bonuses & Promotions

Merlin Bingo offers a mighty welcome bonus, which offers a 500% catch match on your first deposit (so deposit £100 and you get £50 extra) and then 350% on your second and 300% on your third. These have the standard 4x wagering requirement. And, typical for Cozy bingo sites with a free sign up bonus, there's a £10 no deposit offer to claim too.

Otherwise you get a pretty standard set of offers here, with no special artwork sadly. There are chat games, including a regular Break Time Quizzer, 50 free bingo tickets for liking their Facebook page and Session Bingo with a nightly hour of £100 games. New for 2017 you have access to daily raffles and a spin of the bonus wheel when you log in each day.

software & Gameplay

You will find pretty standard Cozy Games software at Merlin Bingo, starting with a lobby built into the main site, which is essentially just a list of rooms. The bingo software is quite basic and doesn’t like to size up, but they have added a really nicely drawn Merlin background.

Chat flows freely here and all the rooms have a healthy amount of chatters, plus hosts, something that’s always a pleasure to see. The game readout is a little on the simple side but works like a dream.

device Compatibility

Merlin Bingo does have a page to inform you about their mobile offerings, but you can only see it once you log out! Still, this is handy information. While the site does not have any apps, you can access it on mobile just by using your browser. This should work on the majority of phone types.

The majority of the slots range is intact for mobile and all of the bingo. The site is well made but lacks a few features, with chat being the biggest thing missing.

safety & Security

Merlin Bingo has a fully secure site, from the main site’s certificate to the SSL encryption protecting transactions. They also encourage trust with the iTech Labs certification for a fair RNG or random number generator.

The site is also fully licensed and regulated as per the law, by the UK Gambling Commission and Isle of Man Gambling Commission.

variety & Originality

Merlin Bingo offers the typical set of Cozy rooms, from Big Ben 90 ball to City Hall 30 ball speed bingo. They have the occasional extra like the 2017 special jackpot room, plus this site has a free bingo offering. All in all, they cover 90 ball, 80 ball, 75 ball, 50 ball and 30 ball, but the rooms are lacking character.

The slot selection is wide ranging but the quality is not all that consistent. Still, there’s definitely something for everyone.

payments & Withdrawals

Merlin Bingo has a pretty standard cashier system which works very well. You get a set of large boxes to enter your info into, so it’s easy on the eyes and not too complex. Withdrawals should take 2-3 working days to process, maybe another day or two to arrive in your bank.

The site accepts several payment methods, including debit and credit cards such as MasterCard, Visa, Switch, Solo and Maestro. They also accept Neteller and PaySafeCard, so that’s a couple of electronic options but more would be good.

VIP Programme

Merlin Bingo has a loyalty plan but it’s extremely limited on information. They offer a four tier VIP system from Silver to SVIP, which you can climb by depositing an earning loyalty points. These can also be traded for credit. Every £1 wagered on bingo or £10 wagered on slots earns you 1 loyalty points.

Higher ranks appear to grant access to offers like new deposit bonuses and voucher codes, but nothing very concrete or tempting.

conclusion

Merlin Bingo has a great home page with some really nice theming, but like a handful of good bingo sites the theme stops at the door. This leaves you with good, fast games, but nothing unique. The new promotions for 2017 give the site some appeal, but again it’s not anything you can only find here. A good chat community and easy access to the support team are plus points that rescue the site.

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